Receptacle and combined pouring spout, vent, and valve therefor



Feb- 9, 1954 A. N. JoHANNEsEN RECEPTACLE AND COMBINED POURING SPOUT,VENT, AND VALVE THEREFOR Filed MaICh 26, 1951 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 9,1954 #Application March26, 1 951;l S erialfN 0.y 217 5650 .2 Claims.

(Granted under 'Title 35, -U. Ls. :code c1952) lsec. 266

The invention described herein, `if patented, maybe manufactured `andused `b'yor lior'the Government for governmental-purposes, without thepayment to me of'any` royalty thereon.

`Myinventionrelates toreceptacles and to combined vents, dispensingvaives and pouring spouts therefor. The device according'to'theinventionis Yparticularly .adapted "for the dispensing of'liquidsbut maybeutilized foi-'the dispensing of semi-liquids, powdered or" likematerial.

'Devices ofthis character are particularlyusevful 'in connection withpocket sized containers for lantern or stoveuel'for usein the eld'bymilitary personnel vorby campers. However, it sobvious that when sou'sed,the.deviee must not only"be;cornpact1but italso 'slrould'be freefrom vprojections likely'to tear the fabric orthepocket. Moreover, "the'device `should have Aconsiderable strength'ito'withstand'eld use and.should be so -constructed as lto permit the .container to be readily'relled. Obviously, `the device, should incorporate :a Valve Ycapable ofbeing .securely held 'in thev closed position Vand suchv valve `shouldalso oe soformed and-arranged as to :permit theposition o'f' thevalve'to be'd'etected inthe dark by the sense .of touch. Finally, the:construction ofthe device -should lendv itself; tostacking.whereby'comparativelylargenumbers of the same can loeco'nveniently'packed in a comparatively small carton'witha minimum' ofwaste space.

Devices analogous to' that lof the invention are 'known but are inferiorlindesign, jstructnre and operation and areun'suitable for`the-ab`ovepurposes. 'Iherefore'it` isl an objector the invention 'to provide animproved combination ofreceptacl'e l 'and combined vent,fpouring spoutand valve.

A furtherobject is to provide an improved 'dispensing valve -for areceptacle.

A "further object iis Yto provide an improved combined vvent and pouringspout for a receptacle A further object is to Aprovide an improvedcombination o'f dispensing valve anda combined "pouring spout "and venttherefor.

A'further obj-ect is'to Vprovide ani improved4 receptacle whichvincorporates 'a Vnovel combined .llingjan'd kdispensing neck or collarwhich in- "corporatesseparate filling, ventingand dispens- 'ingports 'Aifurther-object-is vtoprovide in areceptacl'e such yas-thatlast-described novel dispensing and .venting means therefor.

Afurther objectis'to provide in a combination such asthat lastdescribed, a..novel dispensing and venting valve .and/ora noveldispensing. and venting spout 'for the valve.

-`Other 'objects vand advantages reside in 'the 'particularstructureofthe device, in'theseveral elements "forming the same, combinations andsub-combinations `of such elements, all of which will bereadilyapparentto those Askilledinthe art upon :reference 'to 'the 'attacheddrawing' Yin `connection with Nthe following specification wherein 'theinvention is shown, .described and claimed.

'In the drawing: A

ligurel is a perspective'view of a'recepta'cle in'which the inventionhas beenincorporatd;

I'Figure 12'is Ya 'fragmentary vertical sectional View 4'on an "enlargedscale vand taken substantially `centrally'of the upper part `of Figure1; A

.` Figure 3 is a j fragmentary Ytransverse v sectional View 'takensubstantially on the "plane .of lthe line' of Fig. 2; and

Figure 4 is an exploded p'erspectiveview 'of "th'evalve andfspoutassemb1y.accordingto the invention. r

Referring"specifically to the drawings, wherein 'like Vreference'characters have 'been 'used throughout the 'several -views to:designate like parts, 'I6 "designates Y'generally 'a'receptacle `in-'corporatingjthe invention. In `the embodiment illustrated, vvthereceptacle IB is 'of `frectangul'e'u 4configuration to provide' a` topIwall I I relatively narrow .sidewalls I2 fand .relativelywideffront andrearwalls I3 'and.f'4. LI-Iowever,'it is 4tohe .understood 'that theAreceptacle .illustrated may vary somewhat within 'thescope oftheinveni'tion as 'hereinafter claimed.

'Asbest seen'inFig.'2,.the-topiwall vII 'of the :receptacle Ahas fixedly'secured'thereto in any suitablemanner an upstandingcollar or neck'ISwhich.. surrounds "a 'iilling and dispensing opening 9 formed in the topwall. The collaror .neck I 5 .is provided .with any suitablemeanssuCh.as-.the external threads I6 for readilydetachably ysecuringragcomloined dispensing venting y--valve thereto. The collar.- I:5: hasan)l upperfedgeqformed 'With-a radiall-yi-nwardly directedannularuflange 'E11-which denes an axially disposed-filling opening iI8.'The linner edge of the '.iiange iI'I .is formed with Va .depending .ilip t9 to give 'rigidi-ty -to.th'e Harige. -Likewise, :asis '.la'es't`seen Ein. Figs. 2-\an`d Ll-,f the iiange lv Isl is Tormedvwith lapairfef `spaced ports ZU andZ I. IIn use, andas :will ap'--pear'hereinaiten one of the-portsfor 2| lalways comprises afdispensingport v/hilethev other comprises Ha ventingprt.. f The Vports 2'6 and Z I.arefidentical` and "are used 'interchangeably for `dispensing andventing. 'Between 'the ports ."20 and "2 I, the Hang@ Il is 'formed'with 'el f arcuate strengthening ribs 22 which are disposedconcentrically of the filling opening I8.

A combined dispensing and venting valve has been provided forcooperation with the ports 23 and 2| of the flange I7. Such valve isbest seen in Fig. 4 and comprises a valve washer or gasket below by areinforcing plate 32 of a substantially f smaller diameter. A cap plate33 overlies the gasket 29 and is formed with ports 34 and35corresponding to the ports of the gasket. The gasket 29, reinforcingplate 32 and cap plate 33 are rigidly connected together in any suitablemanner as by rivets 24, Fig. 3, which extend through registering holesformed in the reinforcing plate, gasket and cap plate. The assembly ofthe valve body just described, is supported atop the flange I'I by a cap36 which is provided with internal threads 37 or other meanscomplementary to the means I6 of the collar I5. The cap 36 has an upperedge formed with an inwardly directed flange 38 which overlies acomplementary ange or ledge 39 formed on the lower edge of the cap plate33. As is apparent from Figs. 2 and 3, the flange 33 operates to clampthe valve body assembly to the flange I7 of the collar when the cap 36is tightened thereon. However, when the cap 33 is loosened slightly, thevalve body assembly may be oscillated about the axis of the collar I5 toand from the open position (Fig. 2) wherein the several ports of thevalve body register with the ports 20 and 2I of the flange and theclosed position indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1 wherein such portsare out of registry. As shown, the central portion of the gasket 2Soverlies the filling opening I8 and seals the same at all times whilethe valve is in place.

As seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the top surface of the cap plate 33 lies abovethe uppermost plane of the cap 36. Such top surface of the top plate iscomplementary to the undersurface I0 of a combined pouring and ventspout 4I. rIhe spout 4I is rigidly secured to the cap plate 33 in anysuitable manner so that the complementary surfaces aforesaid are inintimate contact throughout their abutting area. The undersurface 40 ofthe spout 4I is formed with a pair of ports 42 and 43 which registerwith the corresponding ports 3B and 35 of the cap plate. In the formillustrated, the undersurface 40 of the spout 4I and the top surface ofthe cap plate 33 are nat and the spout itself is of rectangular tubularconguration.

The spout 4I has a length greater than the width of the sides I2 of thereceptacle I0 and the xed ports 2! and 2| are so disposed that when thespout and valve are turned to the open position, both ends of the spoutextend beyond the planes of the front and rear Walls I3 and Il of thereceptacle, Fig. 2. On the other hand, the spout 4I has a length whichis less than the width of the front and rear walls I3 and I4 wherebyWhen the spout and valve are turned to the closed position asillustrated in broken lines in Fig. 1, the spout lies entirely withinthe planes of the front, rear, and side Walls of the receptacle It. Inthis arrangement, a number of receptacles may be readily stacked inabutting relation yet may be separately Withdrawn without damaging thespouts of adjacent receptacles. At

the same time, when the valves and spouts are turned to the dispensingpoint, pouring is facilitated by the projection of the ends of thespouts beyond the planes of the front and rear walls of the receptacle.Also, because the xed ports 26 and 2| lie in a plane normal to saidfront and rear walls I3 and I4, they are located substantially nearersaid front and rear Walls than to vthe side Walls I2. With the spout 4Iin the dispensing position (Figure 2), the ends thereof project beyondsaid front and rear walls and either end of the spout may be used fordispensing. Whichever fixed port 20 or 2| is used to vent Athe can isuncovered almost immediately the can is tilted to a dispensing position,even when the can is full, because of the relative proximity of thefixed ports to the front and rear Walls.

In assembling the valve body, the gasket 29, reinforcing plate 32 andcap plate 33 are rst secured together as by the rivets 2d. Thereafterthe cap 36 is applied thereover. Finally, the spout :2l is xed to thetop surface of the cap plate in any suitable manner as by beingsoldered, welded or brazed thereto. Thus, cap 36 is permanentlyconnected to the assembly of valve body and spout but is freelyrotatable relative thereto to permit application of the combinedstructure to the neck or collar i5 of the receptacle.

By connecting the assembly to the neck or collar I5 for readydetachment, it is a simple matter to refill the receptacle by merelyunscrewing the cap 35, whereby the filling opening I8 is uncovered. Atthe same time, there is no need for a separate adapter to provide thexed valve ports. This feature is of some importance as it is importantthat at least one of the ixed ports 2U or 2| be disposed permanently ina location which requires that the valve and spout be turned so that oneend of the latter projects beyond the plane of the front or rear wall ofthe container when the valve is open. This would be diflicult to achieveif the ports were located on an adapter which was itself screwed onto aconventional neck of a container.

By providing a spout which is straight and horizontally disposed, thesame lies comparatively close to the top wall of the receptacle, permitsstacking of several layers of receptacles in packaging the same andlikewise provides a convenient handle for manipulating the valve and forcarrying the receptacle. By forming the under surface of the spoutcomplementary to the top surface of the valve, a much more secure jointcan be formed between the spout and the valve than would be the casewere separate pouring and vent spouts secured endwise to the valve incommunication with the ports thereof or than would be the case were theundersurface 40 of the spout not complementary to the topsurface of thevalve, as, for instance, if the spout II were of circular instead ofrectangular cross section.

It is apparent, therefore, that the structure and arrangement shown anddescribed is far superior to the conventional forms of known analogousvalves. Moreover, while I have shown and described what is now thoughtto be a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understoodthat the same is susceptible of other forms and expressions.Consequently, I do not limit myself to the precise structures shown anddescribed hereinafter except as hereinabove claimed.

I claim:

1. A receptacle formed of top, bottom, side Vand end Walls, said top`Wall provided with an internal filling opening, a tubular collar fixedto the top wall and encircling said filling opening, an inturned flangeon the upper end of said collar and forming an external lling opening inalignment with said internal filling opening, said flange formed withdiametrically opposed ports, a valve body seated on said flange andbeing oscillatable thereon to open and closed positions, said valve bodybeing provided with a pair of diametrically spaced ports adapted toregister with the ports in said ange when the valve body is in openposition, a gasket xed to the underside of the valve body and providedwith diametrically opposed ports registering with the ports in the valvebody, a reinforcing plate centrally disposed on the underside of saidgasket between the ports of the gasket and disposed in said externallling opening, a horizontally disposed open ended tubular member fixedon the top of the valve body and extending diametrically across thesame, said tubular member being formed with a pair of longitudinallyspaced ports registering with the ports of the valve body to provide acombined pouring spout and vent for said receptacle.

2. A receptacle formed of top, bottom, side and end walls, said top wallprovided with an internal lling opening, a tubular collar fixed to thetop wall and encircling said filling opening, an inturned flange on theupper end of said collar and forming an external lling opening inalignment with said internal lling opening, said flange formed withdiametrically opposed ports, a valve body seated on said ange, anannular ledge on the valve body, a screw cap provided with an inturnedflange engaging said ledge, said valve body being provided with a pairof diametrically spaced ports adapted to register with the ports in saidflange when the valve body is in open position, a gasket fixed to theunderside of the valve body and provided with diametrically opposedports registering with the ports in the valve body, a reinforcing platecentrally disposed on the underside of said gasket between the ports ofthe gasket and disposed in said external filling opening, a horizontallydisposed open ended tubular member xed on the top of the valve body andextending diametrically across the same, said tubular member beingformed With a pair of longitudinally spaced ports registering with theports of the valve body to provide a combined pouring spout and vent forsaid receptacle.

ALLAN N. JOHANNESEN.

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